Uncertainty over Iran leaves several scenarios for Israel

The average price for a gallon of gas this Labor Day is $3.75, and for a barrel of crude hovers around $100. According to energy sources, the upsurge is due to the uncertainty over Iran.

It was disclosed this week that Iran is enriching uranium at a 20 percent rate, exactly what's needed to manufacture a nuclear bomb. Of course, says our State Department, Iran doesn't have a delivery system; but rest assured that if it wants to deliver such a package to Tel Aviv, it'll do so even if it has to use a carrier pigeon.

Energy costs are going up because "severe" sanctions have closed European markets to Iranian oil. Still, no sanctions have ever deterred a tyrannical regime from proceeding with an evil scheme. It's the reason that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will attend the so-called "Non-Aligned Summit" in Tehran.

In this viperous mix, the question is: If -- and when -- will Israel attack Iran? Before uncertainty turns into panic, let's examine the following seven scenarios:

ONE: It's all talk! Jerusalem and Tehran are playing a game of: I'll destroy you first! No, I'll destroy YOU first! In the end Israel will learn to live with a nuclear Iran, and the Ayatollahs will reconcile to the "cancer" in the Middle East they call Israel.

TWO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not gaming Mahmoud Ahmedinedjad, but Barack Obama. Obama knows it --- and so do the American people.

THREE: Israel will attack Iran before the presidential election, achieving only meager results, while losing hundreds -- or possibly thousands -- of civilians to Hezbollah rockets. If this happens Obama cannot be reelected, forfeiting almost all Jewish and Evangelical Christian votes. Remember: it's a close election, no matter what. On the other hand, if Israel scores considerable success, Obama would not be able to take credit for it.

FOUR: Israel and the U.S. bomb Iran's nuclear facilities inflicting enough damage to delay Iran's plans for 5 years. (Israel alone, even if successful, will delay it only for 2.) A victorious American-Israeli strike may become the October Surprise -- and Obama wins. So what's the problem? The President doesn't want another war, and neither do the American people. So Obama hopes to be reelected with no surprises, while praying for ......

FIVE: Regime change in Iran. Don't bet on it! The Ayatollahs have been around for 32 years and nothing seems to shake their power. Two years ago we witnessed Iran's liberation movement brutally and efficiently suppressed in one week's time. Intelligentsia and students may want freedom -- but the Revolutionary Guard has thugs to bash their heads in.

SIX: Suppose Scenario ONE happens, in which Iran and Israel co-exist and -- like Dr. Strangelove -- learn to love the bomb. But Iran is till threatening Saudi Arabia, vying for its oil and desirous to turn Mecca to Shia Islam. So the Saudis demand the bomb -- and when have the Americans been able to say "NO" to our darling Saudis?! Shortly thereafter Egypt, now ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, will get its own WMDs. What's next? A Gaza bomb?

SEVEN: Don't take your eyes off Syria This bloodshed has been going on for an unprecedented 17 months and an official count of 22,000 dead. Every secret service in the world has its agents crawling around Syria, including the Mossad and whatever Putin's KGB is called these days. Iran doesn't want the Sunnis to take over Syria, and the war is spilling over to Lebanon where the Shia Hezbollah gets into the action. What better distraction than ordering Hezbollah to rain rockets on Israel? Clearly, in the matter of Syria, something's gotta give!

So what's an American President to do? If Obama makes a deal with Netanyahu to attack Iran after the election, he must keep it, or face a political disaster if the deal goes sour. But if he refuses, at this point, to give Israel tangible guarantees, "Bibi" may go skinny-dipping with Republican Congressmen in the Sea of Galilee.